The present invention concerns printing systems and pertains particularly to varying the gloss level of individual elements printed on a single page.
Color electro-photographic (EP) print systems produce a wide range of gloss level ranging from very matte to very glossy. A glossy-finish is specifically defined herein as a print media finish that provides a surface brightness or shine when illuminated by a light source. A matte-finish is specifically defined herein as a print media finish that lacks surface brightness or shine when illuminated by a light source. Glossy-finish and matte-finish have various characteristics that are desired for various printing applications. People express very strong preferences for gloss level depending on the content of a document. For instance, people prefer glossy images but do not like reading glossy text.
Generally, many printers allow a user to select a glossy-finish or a matte-finish. While selection of media can strongly influence the resulting level of brightness/shine of the finish, some printers allow a user to vary the brightness/shine of the finish without switching media type. For example, in some electro-photographic print systems, gloss level can be varied by adjusting fusing settings, such as fusion temperature and/or fusion duration. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,345 issued to Luc Van Goethem, et al. for METHOD FOR GLOSS CONTROL IN AN ELECTROGRAPHIC APPARATUS. Generally, with the exception of very expensive high-end printers, it is not possible to vary gloss level for individual items or areas on a page. In high end printers that allow variable gloss levels on a single page, a special print stage is added to increase the gloss of individual elements on the page. This is an expensive solution that is not practical for low cost color printers.
One low cost solution for an owner of a color printer is to manually create a composite page and print the different elements separately by repeatedly passing the page through the printer by hand. This method, however, is cumbersome and inefficient.
In accordance with the preferred embodiments of the present invention, gloss level is varied between individual elements printed on a single sheet of media. The sheet of media is fed into a print engine with a first side of the sheet of media in position to be printed upon. A first element on the first side of the sheet of media is printed with a first gloss level finish. The sheet of media is circulated in a duplex media path so that the sheet of media is again fed into the print engine but with a second side of the sheet of media in position to be printed upon. The sheet of media is again circulated in the duplex media path so that the sheet of media is fed into the print engine with the first side of the sheet of media in position to be printed upon. A second element is printed on the first side of the sheet of media with a second gloss level finish.
For example, the first gloss level finish is a higher gloss finish than the second gloss level finish (e.g., glossy finish verses matte finish).
When a fuser is used to vary the gloss level, upon printing the first element, toner is placed on the first side of the sheet of media. The first side of the sheet of media is fused at a setting corresponding to the first gloss level finish. When printing the second element, toner is again placed on the first side of the sheet of media. The first side of the sheet of media is fused at a setting corresponding to the second gloss level finish.
The present invention also can be used when printing on both sides of a media sheet. For example, after the sheet of media is fed into the print engine with the second side of the sheet of media in position to be printed upon, a third element can be printed on the second side of the sheet of media with the first gloss level finish. After printing the second element on the first side of the sheet of media, the sheet of media can again be circulated in the duplex media path so that the sheet of media is again fed into the print engine with the second side of the sheet of media in position to be printed upon. A fourth element can then be printed on the second side of the sheet of media with the second gloss level finish.
In the preferred embodiment, when rendering a page image that includes the first element and the second element, the first element is identified as having the first gloss level finish. The second element is identified as having the second gloss level finish.
The present invention allows for varying the gloss level finish of individual elements on a page without the requirement of sophisticated printer computation and without requiring the addition of special fusing hardware or other print stage hardware.